There were two brothers, but the older brother considered himself more loved by his father. So he tormented his younger brother at every opportunity, especially when his father was not watching.
The younger brother decided to talk to his father about the bullying.
‘He comes into my room, takes my things and …’
‘Just ignore him’, his father interjected. ‘He’ll grow out of it’.
But the behaviour persisted.
Weeks later, the younger brother again sought help from his father.
‘I don’t want to take sides …’
‘What sides?’
‘Well maybe you provoke him’, shrugged his father.
Months later, the younger brother started yelling at his older brother, hoping that by raising his voice and slamming doors, his father will finally fix the problem. But the problem persisted.
So the exasperated younger brother again complained to his father.
‘Try and make peace. If I get involved, things may get worse.’
‘How much worse?’ the younger brother exclaimed. ‘Can’t you see he broke my tooth! What if I did the same to him …’
‘No, no. As I said, just sit down together and don’t get up until you both shake hands.’
But the older brother laughed at the idea of having a talk. ‘You can’t make me do anything!’
‘I’m not making you, I’m asking you,’ the younger brother pleaded between his broken teeth.
‘I’ve only got one thing to say to you,’ grinned the older brother. ‘You’re just jealous.’
‘Of what?’
‘The older brother put up his middle finger. ‘My father is wrapped around my finger, and you know it’.
A year later, the problem persisted. The straw that broke the camel’s back was when the younger brother sustained a black eye.
‘Dad! Look at this!’ he pointed to his bruised eye.
‘Did he really do that?’ asked the father.
‘No, I did it myself!’ the younger brother snapped sarcastically.
‘Look, it’s his birthday today. Don’t upset him. Today is a special day.’
The younger brother sighed. ‘Today is like every other day. Another day, another bruise. Why do you keep defending him? Why don’t you teach him a lesson?’
‘Look,’ suggested his father, putting his hand on his son’s shoulder. ‘After today, sleep in the spare bedroom, and just keep your distance.’
‘But I love my room …’
‘Do you want to fix this problem?’ his father waved his finger at him. ‘Show some gratitude. At least I’m trying!’
‘If I go to the smaller room, I’m going to avoid him like he doesn’t exist,’ the younger brother declared. ‘And you better stop him if he comes anywhere near me’.
Despite all these promises, nothing changed.
The younger brother noticed that his old bedroom was now occupied by his older brother’s belongings.
‘Hey! What are you doing in my room?’
‘It’s not your room. You left it. It’s my room now.’
‘But you already have your own room.’
‘And I have this one for my things.’
The younger brother stood in the doorway. ‘I didn’t choose to leave. Dad made me do it.’
‘For me. Because he loves me, not you’.
Something snapped. The younger brother snapped his brother’s arm and the screaming echoed throughout the house. Their father came charging in and sheltered his injured son.
‘You will pay for this!’ the father yelled at the younger son. ‘You could have killed him!’
‘He’s been trying to kill me!’ retorted the younger son.
‘Where the hell did you learn to be so … violent? Who taught you this disgusting language?’
The younger brother teared up and pointed to his father.
‘Me?’ his father exclaimed. ‘I never ever taught you to be violent…’
‘Yes you did!’ he insisted. ‘You taught me that this is only language that gets your attention. He screams and you come running. This is not my language. It’s yours.’
‘What?’ his father was perplexed. ‘I taught you to talk, to walk away, to …’
‘To ignore him’, the son continued, rolling his eyes, ‘to make agreements, to shake hands, to offer my room. I did all those things you suggested … but nothing changed. You just kept your distance so I had to fend for myself.’
‘You didn’t try hard enough!’ the father retorted.
‘You didn’t try at all!’ the son interjected.
‘How dare you … God help you, I’m going to break you!’ threatened the father.
‘You can’t’, shrugged the younger brother. ‘I’m already broken.’